Quest to the Underworld and Back
by Alexa Ahrens
Summary: Nico tells Percy of a plan he has to seperate Kronos and Luke. This plan turns into a quest with the whole gang. They seek the prophecy of the oracle. Features adventure, danger, romance, and more. Please R&R.
1. My Time in The Dark

**Ch.1 My Time in the Dark**

**I run into to trouble on my way to the Land of the Dead**

_Disclaimer-I'll say this over and over again, I don't own PJO!_

On my birthday, Nico told me he knew something about Luke. Tonight I'm going to find out what.

"Nico…where are we going?"

"Shh! You can't be so loud, Percy."

"Okay, but seriously where are we going?" I asked in a whisper.

"You'll see…" he said back. I couldn't see Nico in the dark but I figured he'd probably be wearing his black jacket and holding his sword. I was getting pretty nervous though because I couldn't see anything.

"Hey Nico," I said.

"Yea?"

"I can't see. And where are we going?" I guess it always came back to that, but I wanted to know.

"We're already here." Nico said. I couldn't see him but I thought he was grinning.

"Here where?"

"Percy, welcome back to the Underworld." Nico said. I didn't know what to say or why he brought me here.

"Your father doesn't by any chance want to release his wrath on me, does he?" I had to ask because you never know when you're a halfblood.

"Naw, I just thought that since we're going to talk about Luke, we should do it somewhere safe." I felt relieved to hear that.

"So, what did you find out?"

"Well, I think I might know how to tear apart Kronos and Luke, but there are still a few things I have to work out."

"What's your idea?" I asked.

"It involves someone in the Fields of Punishment. It's going to be difficult getting in and out, even for a son of Hades. It's going to be even more difficult convincing him."

"Sounds to me like a quest..." I said.

"Yeah, I guess." he said, shrugging.

"That means we should go see Chiron and gather up everybody."

"Is all that really necassary?"

"You tell me. You're the one who knows what you're talking about."

"Okay, gather up your friends." Nico said.

"Trust me, they'll be a big help." I reassured him.

"Yeah, I know." he said. "Let's go."

_to be continued..._


	2. We Seek our Prophecy

**Ch.2 We Seek our Prophecy **

_Disclaimer-I don't know PJO. I really don't._

"Yeah, I know." he said. "Let's go."

My mom gave me and Nico a ride to camp. We drove up, and I looked at the familiar gate and _Camp Half-Blood _sign that only we could see through the Mist.

"We're here. Thanks, Mom." I said.

"No problem, Honey. Are you guys going to be okay? Percy, call me if you need picked up. Oh, and call me tonight."

"Okay, Mom. Thanks." I didn't want to interrupt her, but she would have gone on and on.

"Okay, you boys be careful."

"Thanks for the ride, Ms. Jackson." Nico said.

"Your welcome, Dear." she replied. Me and Nico got out of the car and walked into camp. We were immediately greeted by Grover and Annabeth.

"Hey guys. Percy, I got your call, what's wrong." Annabeth said.

"Well, Nico has an idea about how to separate Kronos from Luke's body." I said. I went on to say, "It involves someone in the Fields of Punishment." Nico looked at me like I was on his turf. I shut up and let him talk.

"There's a guy that I heard of that is in the Fields of Punishment. He can help us." he said. "Getting in and out of the Fields of Punishment is going to be hard, even for me. Convincing this guy to help us is going to be even harder. After we find him, we'll have to act out our plan. This is kind of going to be like a quest." he said.

Chiron galloped over. "Indeed, it will be a quest. As for any quest we should consult the oracle."

"Chiron's right," I said. "We need to consult the oracle. But who is going to go see the oracle? Only one person can go up."

"I don't know. I just heard the overview of the quest." Chiron said. "Who is leading this quest?" he asked.

I looked at Nico and he looked at me. I was kind of disappointed because I was always the one who got to consult the oracle. Nico said, "Percy is."

Grover, Annabeth, and I all looked at him surprised. He looked back at us and shrugged. Chiron looked at me, "Percy, let's go." I looked back at my friends, still confused, and then I followed Chiron to the Big House.

I walked up the familiar stairway to face the oracle. I opened up the door and stepped into the room. I saw the mummy in the tie-died shirt. I sat on the stool and waited. I wondered if the oracle would feed me the prophecy since it was meant for Nico. All of a sudden, the oracle spoke.

_I am the spirit of Delphi, _the voice said. _Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python.__Approach, Seeker, and ask._

"What must we do to separate Kronos and Luke? What is our destined quest?" I asked.

_Five shall travel to the punishment lands,_

_One will lose hope and give up on their plans,_

_The needed one will put up a fight,_

_But an outsider will set things right,_

_A Titan's fate will become his own,_

_Deciding Mt. Olympus's throne._

As usual, a green, smoke serpent entered the mummy's mouth. The prophecies usually weren't straight-forward. I didn't know who the fifth person was. There was me, Grover, Annabeth, and Nico. Who else was there? Who was going to give up on our quest, and what is going to make them lose hope? The needed one is probably that guy from the Fields of Punishment. Who was the outsider that was going to set things right? _The Titan's fate will become his own?_Whose own? The last sentence was kind of self-explanatory. This was more important than we thought. It was going to decide the ruler of Olympus. I left the attic. I went down the stairs, through the Big House and out the door. I ran to Annabeth, Grover, and Nico, who were still gathered around Chiron. "I got the prophecy."

"And?" Annabeth said. They all had anxious looks on their faces.

"It said: um, 'Five shall travel to the punishment lands,' uh, 'One will lose hope and give up on their plans, the needed one will put up a fight,' um, and, 'but an outsider will set things right, a Titan's fate will become his own, deciding Mt. Olympus's throne.'"

"Are you sure that that is it?" Grover asked. He had a serious look on his face. Chiron had a similar look on his face.

"Yes," I said confidently, "I'm sure."

"Well, who's the fifth person?" Annabeth asked.

"I have no clue." I said. "I was wondering that myself."

"I know who it is," Chiron said. "There's someone I want you all to meet." A girl about a year younger than Annabeth walked up behind Chiron.

"Hey, I'm Joelle. I'm a daughter of Hephaestus. I think I can help you guys with your quest."


	3. We Train for our Quest

**Ch.3 We Train for Our Quest**

_Disclaimer-PJO is an empire of epic proportion, and I definitely don't own it._

_Five shall travel to the punishment lands,_

_One will lose hope and give up on their plans,_

_The needed one will put up a fight,_

_But an outsider will set things right,_

_A Titan's curse will become his own,_

_Deciding Mt. Olympus's throne. _

That was my prophecy. My destiny. I still had my questions, but one had been answered with Joelle. She was the fifth person.

"So, uh, what's the prophecy?" Joelle asked. "I know you just said it, but I wasn't here to hear it." I was really surprised at Joelle. She wasn't ugly like most of Hephaestus's children. She was actually kind of pretty. She had curly brown hair that was shoulder-length, blue eyes, and a nice smile. It was weird to think of her and Beckendorf as brother and sister.

"Um, sure." I said. I restated the prophecy. "'Five shall travel to the punishment lands, one will lose hope and give up on their plans; the needed one will put up a fight, but an outsider will set things right; the Titan's curse will become his own, deciding Mt. Olympus's throne.' It's a really important quest." I explained.

"I'm well aware of that, Percy. I may not be a child of the Big Three, but I am capable of comprehending that." She looked at me and Nico. Nico glanced at me. I stepped back, trying not to offend her anymore than I already did. I was kind of surprised at her reaction. She was really defensive.

"I know. And I know that you're going to be a big help to us." I said, trying to gain some Brian points.

"Thanks." she said.

Chiron chimed in, "Well, so little time, so much to accomplish. We need to start advanced training as a group. Come along." Chiron led us to the arena. "First, I need to show you all how to manipulate the Mist. It will help you as you travel around America with mortals around you." I thought about Westover Hall. Thalia was able to manipulate the Mist. Chiron had taught her within the first few months she'd been back. Now I was learning.

"Cool." Annabeth said. "Let's do it."

"First," Chiron explained. "You must think about what you are dealing with in reality. Then, you need to think about what you want the mortals to see."

"Is there a way I can manipulate the Mist with my reed pipes?" Grover asked.

"Not right now, Grover. Anyway, then, you snap your fingers and you are controlling the Mist."

"That's awesome," I said. "Is there any way we can try this out?"

"I'm afraid not. Not here. There aren't any mortals to test it on."

"Oh," I said. I felt stupid because it was kind of an obvious question.

"Next, we need to test you all on you sword-fighting." Chiron had us huddle up as he summoned five monsters. He got five hellhounds to challenge us.

"Cake," Nico mumbled. He spoke something in Ancient Greek. I believe that it was something along the lines of _Stoppen. Zurück in die Unterwelt. _Which I was pretty sure meant, _Stop, return to the Underworld._ Two did as they were told. The other two must have been hard of hearing or something.

"Good, Nico. Use your abilities to help you."

I willed the lake to rise. The water pushed the hellhound on his back. I ran up and stabbed it with _Anaklasmos_, Riptide. It burst into ashes.

"Uh!" Annabeth grunted as she sliced one with her celestial bronze dagger. Ashes.

Joelle had wonderfully crafted weapons and armor. The last hellhound rammed into her chest. She reminded me of myself in my first encounter with a hellhound. She didn't even look phased. Her armor was of the highest quality. She charged the hellhound and it burst into ashes. She yelled triumphantly.

Chiron smiled. "Good job, Heroes. You know how to use your weapons." Grover did not really play a part in the fight. He looked at Chiron, ashamed. "Grover, you need to learn to use your strengths in battle, as well. You are also a member of this team."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, guys." Annabeth smiled and patted his arm.

"Moving on," Chiron said. "Teamwork. We'll have a relay race."

"A race?" Joelle asked. "I hardly think that a race will prepare us enough for this epic quest."

"I think that Chiron knows what he's doing," Annabeth said.

He gestured toward Annabeth, "Thank you, dear."

"Welcome."

"Now, this isn't any ordinary race. It's a race against time. It's a race for survival--"

"Why are you risking our lives in preparation for a big quest what if we die now? Wouldn't that ruin everything?" Joelle asked skeptically.

Chiron ignored her. I think she got the hint. "You will run through a rally of campers that are armed and in your way, and tag the next person. He or she will then climb to the top of the lava-flowing wall. The next person will be at the top of the wall and climb back down. Then, you will all huddle up around the lake and devise a plan to take me down. You job is not to kill me, that is impossible, of course. But you must disarm me of my bow and arrows, together." He looked at us seriously. "Do you all understand?"

"Yes." I stepped forward.

"Very well. You have fifteen minutes to discuss amongst yourselves about who will do what."

"So, who is going to do what?" I restated what Chiron said.

"I think you should go up the wall, Percy. You're the fastest." Annabeth said. I nodded. "Joelle, you should handle the ambush crowd. Grover, you wait by the lake. Does that sound good?" she asked. We all agreed. It was a plan worthy of Athena.

Chiron galloped toward us. "Are you ready?" We nodded. "Okay," Chiron said. "Good luck." We walked to our posts. Chiron blew the conch shell and Joelle was off.

She was incredibly fast. She jumped and dodged the other campers like hurdles in track. She used her sword with skill and focus. She didn't get caught up in the fighting, she just used her sword to deflect other weapons. She tagged my hand in minutes.

I went up the wall faster that I had ever before. That was saying something because I was always really fast. I sped up the wall and tagged Annabeth's hand. She waited at the top as the walls slammed together. As soon as the wall separated, she was on her way down.

She went slower than me but still incredibly fast. The walls were coming closer to each other. _"Di immortales!"_ Annabeth cursed in Ancient Greek as she let go of the wall, falling a few feet, to avoid being crushed by the walls.

We all ran back to the lake to meet Grover. Now, it was time for our hardest task, disarming Chiron.


	4. Our First Hardest Task

**Ch.4 Our First Hardest Task**

_Disclaimer-PJORick - me: I don't own PJO._

We all ran back to the lake to meet Grover. Now, it was time for our hardest task, disarming Chiron.

"Now, Annabeth, what do you think we should do to disarm Chiron of his bow and arrows? 'Cause I honestly have no clue, what so ever." I asked.

"Well, if I know Chiron like I think that I do, he's not going to make it easy, but it will be possible. He'll give us opportunities to use our strengths. He'll also test our weaknesses."

Nico looked at Annabeth. "So, who's doing what? I mean, I think that we should use our strengths to the fullest. But, how can we devise a plan that displays that?"

"Well, I don't know. He's been alive forever and he is very experienced. He is also very patient and observant. He doesn't let his guard down." she replied. "I don't have a strategy for us. I have no plan worthy of Athena." She looked down, ashamed.

Grover patted her on the shoulder. "Don't feel bad, Annabeth. It's a hard task. But it'll get harder."

"Well, you guys," I said. "Let's give it a shot."

"Without a plan of attack? He's immortal. He's so experienced. That is absolutely _insane_. You people are crazy." Joelle felt the need to add.

"Well, we can't take the rest of our lives devising a plan. I guess that we'll just have to wing it." I said.

"Okay, let's do it," Nico agreed.

"Yeah," added Annabeth.

"Sure!" cried Grover.

"Okay," Joelle budged.

We approached Chiron. "You are ready already? I'm impressed. Okay, let's get started." Chiron said.

We had no idea what was in store for us.

Nico, Annabeth, Grover, Joelle, and I huddled up. "You guys, we can do this," I said. I tried to sound encouraging even though I was uneasy, myself. We put our hands in and yelled, "GODS!"

We walked toward Chiron, side by side. I nodded to Chiron, confirming that we were ready.

He nodded back, drew his bow, and yelled, "Go!"

I ran alongside Annabeth. We tried to ambush Chiron from behind. He kicked us with his hind legs. I guess Annabeth was wrong about him going easy on us.

"You need to be more wise and crafty. Be creative, use your minds. Annabeth, you of all people should know that brawn must bow to brains sometimes. Think!"

Annabeth had a look of complete disgust on her face. I grabbed her hand and helped her up. "Don't worry, you're doing fine." I told her.

She smiled at me. "Thanks."

Joelle ran head on towards Chiron. I thought she was going to run right into his chest. She slid under him and jumped on his back. I was really impressed. She was kind of annoying, but she was really, really good at what she did. She grabbed four of Chiron's arrows and snapped them in half. Chiron threw her off his back nonchalantly. Joelle half-smiled at her achievement. Four out of fifteen arrows on her first try, pretty good.

Nico looked like he was summoning monsters, but he wasn't. I am pretty sure he was concentrating, maybe even praying. I just knew that he was about to do something big. He summoned a hellhound. _Shocker, _I thought sarcastically to my self. Nico hopped onto the hellhounds back and was riding it. He drew his sword. I thought he was going to try to add Chiron to his father's empire.

I was just about to yell, 'He's immortal, you know!' when Nico rode past him and cut his quiver right off of his neck. The arrows fell to the ground.

"Yes!" Nico cried.

Chiron still had one arrow in his bow. He shot the hellhound and it burst into ashes. Nico fell to the ground. Chiron picked up one of his arrows off the ground.

"Cheat!" Joelle yelled. "You picked up your arrow."

"Yes, I did. Unlike you, Nico did not snap them to prevent me from reusing them, Joelle. If you do not cut off your enemies' resources, they can still access them. Remember that."

Grover started running around frantically, snapping all of the arrows.

"Good Grover."

Nico and Joelle were occupying Chiron, so I pulled Annabeth aside. "This is taking too long. We'd be dead by now if Chiron was our enemy. We have to use our heads." I said.

"Heads? That just gave me an idea." She took her Yankees cap out of her pocket. "Hat, invisibility."

"Annabeth! You're a genius!"

"Thank you. I need to get over there quickly, though."

"Okay," I said. "I will go help distract."

"No, don't." she said. "That'll tip him off. He knows about my cap. He'll suspect something if I'm the only one gone." She was wearing the face that she had when gears were turning inside her head. "You know what? You take the cap. Sneak up, quietly, to Chiron and take his bow. Cut it off like nnico did, then snap it. Okay?"

"Got it." I took her Yankees cap and put it on. Cool, I was invisible. Sorry, ADHD acting up there. I snuck up to Chiron and sliced the string of his bow. It fell off of him. I snapped the wood over my knee.

"Well, Percy," he said. "It's a good thing that that wasn't my good bow."

I took off the cap. "How'd you know it was me?"

He just smiled. "Good job, you guys. You are more than ready for your quest."


	5. We Start our Quest Kind of

**Ch.5 We Start our Quest (kind of)**

_Disclaimer-Δεν δική PJO. (in English, not Greek, please!) I don't own PJO._

He just smiled. "Good job, you guys. You are more than ready for your quest."

"Ya really think so?" Joelle asked. "I mean, do you really think we're ready?"

"Yes, I do."

I looked at Joelle, "I agree."

Nico stepped forward, "So, when are we leaving? I can pretty much travel to and from the Underworld as I please, but I can only take one person with me. It'll take a while to travel to Los Angeles."

"Nico's right, you guys." Annabeth said. "It will take a while."

Chiron nodded. "Then you all shall leave tonight. You are ready."

"Okay," I said. I was sort of nervous, though. I'd never felt so anxious before a quest. I knew the importance of this particular quest.

"I'm going to go say bye to my brother. See you guys in a little bit!" Joelle said. I knew she had quite a few brothers and sisters, but I knew she was talking about Beckendorf. Her and Beckendorf were really close.

Annabeth took me aside. "Percy, I am a little nervous."

"I know, me too." I told her. "This is really important."

"That's not what I meant. Back there," she looked down. "I couldn't think of a plan."

"You came through in the end, Wise Girl. That's what matters."

"No, it's not what matters. In a quest, you don't always get a second chance." I knew that she was referring to our friend, Thalia. She got a second chance. What Annabeth was saying was that you have to use the chances you get because another isn't promised.

"I know what you mean. It's not promised. But we did get a second chance, and you did come through."

Annabeth hugged me. "I guess you're right. You always know what to say."

I smiled. "Thanks , and uh, don't worry about it."

She smiled back. "Okay, well um, what do you want to do to pass the time?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

"Wait, tell me the prophecy again."

"Um, I don't really remember it--"

She looked down. "Oh," she said.

"But, I wrote it down. It's in my pocket."

Her face brightened. "Good let me see it." I took the piece of paper out of my pocket, and she grabbed it.

She read it aloud, "Okay, it says, 'Five shall travel to the punishment lands; One will lose hope and give up on their plans' yeah, I remember that. Um, 'The needed one will put up a fight; But an outsider will set things right,' who is this outsider? 'A Titan's fate will become his own.' Now, that doesn't make any sense to me. Will become whose own? 'Deciding Mt. Olympus's throne.' At least that part is self-explanatory. Aye, aye, aye. I don't know what is going on. There are too many unlocked links in this prophecy."

"As in every prophecy," I added. "Besides we should go pack."

"Okay."

I went into Cabin Number Three and started packing: spare clothes, a pouch full of golden drachmas, some ambrosia and nectar, et cetera, you know, demigod stuff. I met up with Annabeth, and together we headed toward the Big House.

When we arrived, we found everyone already there waiting.

"It's about time you love birds showed up," Joelle said when we walked through the door. Annabeth and I both blushed, but did not deny it. I did like her, but I didn't want her to know. It might complicate the quest. Grover nudged Joelle and gave her a glare. "What?" she whispered back. "It's not like you weren't thinking it."

We walked in and got a big old pep-talk from Chiron. "Now, this is very important. I just want you all to know that you are going to be great. Good luck. Are you all ready."

"Yup."

"Yeah."

"Yes."

"I guess." (Joelle said that if you didn't already guess.)

"Mm hmm."

"Well okay then. As usual, Argus will drive you to the bus station. Then you are on your own."

I said, "We're ready, Chiron."

"Oh, I know."

COMING SOON!! Annabeth faces trouble already, find out what happens in the next chapter, Annabeth faces Arachne. Keep checking for an update, but I need 5 reviews on this chapter.


	6. Problems in PA

Thanks to all the reviewers! Sorry for taking so long to update! Well, here it is!!

**Ch.6 Problems in PA**

_Disclaimer-This is called FANfiction…I'm just a fan, not the owner of PJO._

"Oh, I know."

We loaded into the camp car, and Argus drove us to the bus station. "Good luck on your quest, guys." he said. _Wow,_ I thought. _He's actually talking to us. Refreshing. _As we approached the station, he unlocked the doors, and we got out of the car.

"Here we go again," I said.

"I feel the same way." Annabeth replied. "Well now, let's not miss the bus."

"How many buses do we have to ride anyway?" Joelle asked.

"Well," Nico started. "My dad's palace is in Los Angeles. My best guess would be…a lot."

"Yeah," I said. We walked into the line and purchased five tickets. Soon enough, our bus arrived. We got on.

"Pass?" the driver looked at us expectantly.

"Here you go." Grover said as he handed him our bus passes.

"Humph. Thanks." the driver grumbled in return.

We walked to the back of the bus and started to discuss our quest extendedly.

"Okay," I said. "Annabeth, state the prophecy…again."

She laughed and took out the piece of paper I had given her earlier. "Okay, it says, 'Five shall travel to the punishment lands; One will lose hope and give up on their plans; The needed one will put up a fight; But an outsider will set things right; A Titan's fate will become his own; Deciding Mt. Olympus's throne.' Now, let's make sense of this."

"Well, most of it is self-explanatory. We are going to go to the Fields of Punishment. Got it. Someone is going to give up because it's going to get really bad out there. Got it. The guy that's the solution to Kronos and Luke's 'meshing' issue will give us a hard time. Hades will probably set things right. He's probably the outsider. Kronos' fate will become Luke's. Got it. The future of Mt. Olympus depends on us. Got it." Joelle reasoned. Her intelligence really surprised me. I knew Hephaestus' kids were smart, but she was sounding like a child of Athena.

Nico looked at her. "That is a really good analysis of the quest."

"But," I commented. "The prophecies are never what they seem."

"So true." Grover said. "And I know this might sound dumb, but do you really think the Fields of Punishment part needs all of us."

We all stared at him.

"Okay, okay. I was just asking."

"Our stop is up ahead so let's gather our stuff." Annabeth said.

"Byllsburgh, Pennsylvania!" the driver called out.

"That's us." We got off of the bus and sat on the bench at the station. "Okay, next we go to this street right here and take a taxi to Washington to get on another bus." Annabeth said, pointing to a map.

"Okay," I confirmed. I looked at Annabeth, her face went from calm and mellow to completely freaked. I'd seen her this way only once before.

"Sp…spi…spi…spiders!" Two little spiders crawled up the bench. Then two turned to three, and three to four, and so on. Annabeth darted and we followed. A child of Athena and spiders just weren't a good thing. We ran all the way to a place that wasn't even on the map. A countryside. We were sure the spiders hadn't followed. We were right.

The spiders that were already here were now chasing us. Yeah, chasing. Then, a giant spider rose right from the ground. _Arachne_.

Annabeth, in shock and fright, screamed. Grover did as well. Then he took out his reed pipes and started to play a frantic tune.

"Stop that mediocre playing of those stupid pipes! It has no effect on me. I came for you." She pointed to Annabeth. "My children smelled you. I couldn't resist. You will pay for your mother's sin!"

"Sin?" I mumbled to Nico. "She's no god."

"Oh, but she thinks she's one."

"You can't do anything to me--" Annabeth said, her voice shaking. She put on her cap. "If you can't see me." She sounded more confident now.

"Curse you daughter of Athena! Remember, though wise one, that I can still feel you and hear you. And so can my children."

Spiders by the hundreds rushed around us. Crawling on us; biting us. One must have gotten Annabeth because she shrieked and became visible. Momma Spider took over from there.

"Foolish girl. Neither you or your mother are wise at all."

"That's not true," Annabeth muttered.

"Not true? Prove it." She laughed wickedly. "You cannot!"

Annabeth jumped up and charged Arachne. She stabbed her knife into her.

"That's the best you have got?" She cackled.

"Why didn't you burst into ashes?"

I wondered this, too. I knew she was lying when she replied, "Because silly girl, I am not the monster, you are."

Thousands of spiders crawled onto Annabeth. She looked all black. Completely covered. I rushed in and tackled her.

"What are you doing Seaweed Brain?" she asked flustered.

"Trying to save you." The spiders fell off of her and we ran. We knew, though that we couldn't out run Arachne and all of her children. There had to be another way.

"Percy!" Nico yelled.

"What?!?"

"Come here!"

Annabeth and I sped up and stopped in front of Nico.

"Annabeth," he said. "Come with me to the Underworld and we can come back when all of the spiders are gone."

"You said you can't take people with you."

"No, I said I can only take one person. I can travel freely from there to here, but it takes a lot of energy. So doing it twice willl really be pushing it, but it's our only chance. Arachne only wants you and she can't follow us. It'll work; trust me." Nico's plan was amazing.

"I think that that's a great idea. We won't go to far. She'll leave when you're gone." I said to Annabeth.

"I just want to kill her."

"Not today." I told her.

"Fine," she said. "But now I'll be worried throughout the rest of the quest."

"You'll be fine," Grover said.

"Yeah, so get going so we all don't die." Joelle added.

Nico cut a hole into the air and walked in with Annabeth. We should be safe.

"What? Where has the daughter of my enemy gone?"

"She's in the Underworld," Joelle said. _Great,_ I thought. "One of your 'children' killed her."

Arachne's spider face looked pleased. "Rid of one, just a few more to go.

Okay, another point for Joelle in the amazing wit category.

Need 10 reviews to continue. Thanks!


	7. We Make Camp in the Land of the Living

**No excuses, I haven't updated. Sorry, but here it is!**

_Disclaimer - I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, sadly enough._

**Ch.7 We Make Camp in the Land of the Living**

Okay, another point for Joelle in the amazing wit category.

Arachne turned to face us, "Now, what to do with all of you?"

Grover looked confused. "Nothing? You shouldn't have a problem with us."

Arachne croaked out a laugh. "Do you honestly believe that? You affiliated yourselves with that creature of Athena. Why should I let you be?" The smaller spiders began to crowd around us, forming a sea of black.

"Arachne, your problems with Athena should not transcend to us and our parents. Do you really want Hephaestus and Poseidon after you? You are," I strained to say this, "beautiful and happy so go on with your existence, and leave us alone." I took one inconspicuous step back.

"Yes. You do have a point. Fine, then I will let you be. Come, my children. I'm sure there are other demigods that could use your attention." Arachne left the countryside with her children.

Once she was out of sight, Joelle began clapping her hands mockingly. "Way to go, smooth."

"What is your problem? Percy just saved us! I'm tired of your attitude," Grover said, flailing his arms.

"My attitude?" Joelle asked. "My attitude? I am helping you people out. I will leave you guys right now if that's what you want! This is not what I signed up for, and I hope you realize that. What have _you _contributed to this quest anyway? I mean besides complaining, whining, and playing those god-awful pipes of yours. _I'm _tired of _your attitude_!"

Grover started to whimper softly.

I shot Joelle a dark look. "Grover, bud, she didn't mean that. I'm sure it's just because of the stress. She's not as experienced as we are."

"She's right, though. I am not a help in this quest."

"Yes, but you will be. We need you. Don't give up on me." I put a hand on his shoulder. "We're in this together. And Joelle, we're a team so don't act like your above this quest or like you have something better to do because this _is _what you signed up for."

"Oh, we're a team? Okay, then who gave you authority to tell me what to do, huh? I am your equal, Mr. Big Three," she shot back.

"I know that!" I yelled back at her. "Joelle, I don't know why your so insecure about who your parents are, but that can't be your excuse for your behavior anymore. Don't you get it? The fate of the world rests on our shoulders and it's not something I'm going to let you screw up! This whole quest is not going to be in jeopardy for the rest of us. If your not ready for this kind of responsibility, leave. At least that would clear up a part of the Delphi's prophecy." I realized that my words were beyond harsh, but she asked for it.

"You think that _I'm _going to be the one to 'lose hope and give up on our plans'?" she asked sourly. "Let me fill _you_ in, Percy. I am not insecure about my parents. I cannot believe you would even say that! Come down off your high horse already, would you? Grover, I _am _sorry for flipping on you, but get real. I am not going to change my personality for you. Okay?"

I looked down for a second, then met her eyes. "I'm sorry, Joelle. We just need to set aside our differences and accomplish this quest."

"I agree with Percy," Grover added.

"Fine then. Let's get moving. Sun's about to go down, we need to cover some ground," I said.

Joelle looked at me seriously. "Do you really think that's a good idea?" she asked. "Nico and Annabeth are going to phase back to this spot. Not to mention, they probably won't be back until tomorrow, anyway. Nico will need rest. It takes a lot out of him to phase with another person. Think about it. We should just make camp here in the land of the living because they're probably doing the same in the land of the dead."

"She's right, Percy," Grover agreed. "Let's make camp."

She was right, and I was impressed, not that I would admit to that. "Okay. Let's set up camp right here then."

It didn't take long to set up camp. Joelle surprised me by sitting down next to me when we were finished. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Her question caught me off guard. "Um, yea, I guess. Why do you ask?"

"I know that you and Annabeth are very close, and it must kill you to know that she's down there without knowing all of the details."

"Oh," I said. "I'm not that worried actually. Nico's on his home turf. Besides, Annabeth is capable of taking care of herself." I smiled at her. She really isn't so bad, I thought. "What about you? How're you holding up on your first quest?"

She shrugged. "Eh. I've been better, but I've been worse, too." Joelle stared into my eyes.

"What?" I asked.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Aren't you asking me something already?" I joked and mock-shoved her.

"I'll take that as a yes, then. Do you really think that I'm going to be the one to give up on this quest? I mean if not who do you think will?" She watched her hands as she twiddled her thumbs.

"Well, if you want to be technical," I said as she nodded eagerly, "you already did put up a fight and threaten to leave." I laughed.

"Percy, I'm being serious. Come on, talk to me."

"Okay, well seriously, I don't know," I said. "I don't really know you, but you seem to be strong in your abilities and beliefs. I do know, however, that Annabeth, Grover, Nico, and I have been through a lot. I don't see any of us giving up on this, either."

She nodded in understanding. "I thought you'd say something like that. You just need to know that I won't give up. I refuse to. Simple as-" she stopped short. "Percy," she hissed, "do you hear that?"

I could make out a faint rustling behind us. I noticed Grover was no where to be seen. "Grover?" I asked. "Is that you?" I heard a squeal of pain that could only belong to Grover.

"Percy, Grover is in trouble. That's obvious."

"We need to find something to do to help him with whatever he has gotten himself into. Let's go," I said with determination.

"What about Nico?" she asked cautiously. "And Annabeth? We can't just leave."

"What about Grover, Joelle?" I countered. "You said so yourself, Annabeth and Nico will probably make camp down there. We have all night to save him. We need to go!"

**Well, hope you liked it! 10 reviews to update! Thanks again for sticking with me.**


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